Last week I started getting several Robocalls an hour. I set my phone to silence any unknown number thinking that anything important they would leave a voice mail. That worked fine for several days but now they have started leaving a voice mail of 4 seconds of static. So now I have to check each one before I trash it. My phone service does not have anyway to deal with this problem unlike some phone providers. I believe that these calls are not lawful but there seem to be no enforcement. Not sure what to do other than changing my phone number which would be a major pain.
Robo calls
- Thread starter grover99
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Set your answering machine to kick in after 6 rings. Most spam calls hang-up after 4.
Pisgah
Member
You are correct, they are not lawful; you are also correct, the law is not enforced. Why? Too much money being made -- robocalls now outnumber human calls on a daily basis, with revenues to the carriers of billion$.
Robo call bans are not enforced because many (most, all?) come from overseas where the authorities, if any, either don't care or can't enforce robo call bans.
I block every one I get, which has greatly reduced their volume in my case.
This seems an excellent idea! I looked up how to do this with an iPhone. The simplest way is to call your carrier and ask them to do it. If you prefer to do by yourself: How to Change Number of Rings Before Voicemail on iPhone?.
I block every one I get, which has greatly reduced their volume in my case.
This seems an excellent idea! I looked up how to do this with an iPhone. The simplest way is to call your carrier and ask them to do it. If you prefer to do by yourself: How to Change Number of Rings Before Voicemail on iPhone?.
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And since they're automated you can't even have fun pranking them anymore
I have fun with them. I answer all "unknown caller" or "potential spam" calls. I answer as a fictional business.
"Customer service department! How may I direct your call?"
"Memorial Garden Cemetery. Grounds keeper. Jonathan speaking. How may I help you?"
Confuses the hell out of them. Since I started doing that, Robo calls have fallen off dramatically. I think it gets your number removed from their call lists.
Kind of disappointed as it's fun to cook up amusing scenarios.
My favorite exchange:
Me- "Malibu Express. Now offering clothing optional cruise to Catalina Island. Reservation desk."
Hesitate Female voice- "Sorry I think I got the wrong number."
Me- " That's okay. Maybe we'll see you next time."
I doubt I'll be hearing from them again.
"Customer service department! How may I direct your call?"
"Memorial Garden Cemetery. Grounds keeper. Jonathan speaking. How may I help you?"
Confuses the hell out of them. Since I started doing that, Robo calls have fallen off dramatically. I think it gets your number removed from their call lists.
Kind of disappointed as it's fun to cook up amusing scenarios.
My favorite exchange:
Me- "Malibu Express. Now offering clothing optional cruise to Catalina Island. Reservation desk."
Hesitate Female voice- "Sorry I think I got the wrong number."
Me- " That's okay. Maybe we'll see you next time."
I doubt I'll be hearing from them again.
I have been told by a friend that knows a bit about marketing is that many of those calls if they hit a number 3 times and its not picked up they take your number off their call list! That goes for robo or human!
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I just don't answer and block those numbers then delete the call from history. Worked so far.
.455_Hunter
Member
I ask them how the weather is in Mumbai, Islamabad, or Manilla.
I said this before but one of the first jobs I had when I got out of the army was working for a telemarketing company.
My employer was based in the United States so they had to follow all the rules. A scam caller is already breaking the rules and they don't care. As others have said most of them are not in the United States so they really don't care.
The first thing is that I had no control over who I called. I sat at a computer hooked up to a robo-dialer and it dialed numbers in a given area code all day long. Sometimes It would change area codes, moving West as the day went on.
I doubt very seriously that I ever called the same number twice. I made hundreds of phone calls a day so if I did I probably wouldn't remember it.
We were told that if the predictive dialer dialed a given number three times with no answer that number was taken off the list.
I don't remember the predictive dialer making any distinction between a landline and a cell phone. This is back when you had to buy so many minutes to use for your phone and I remember people screaming at me because I was taking their minutes on their cell phone.
I no longer have a landline and I don't think I have for over 20 years. My cell phone is set up such that if you're not on my list of approved callers your call goes straight to voicemail no matter what.
I know the technology has changed drastically since I quit doing this but I would imagine that they're still using a predictive dialer and that if you simply don't answer the call two or three times you will eventually drop off their list.
My employer was based in the United States so they had to follow all the rules. A scam caller is already breaking the rules and they don't care. As others have said most of them are not in the United States so they really don't care.
The first thing is that I had no control over who I called. I sat at a computer hooked up to a robo-dialer and it dialed numbers in a given area code all day long. Sometimes It would change area codes, moving West as the day went on.
I doubt very seriously that I ever called the same number twice. I made hundreds of phone calls a day so if I did I probably wouldn't remember it.
We were told that if the predictive dialer dialed a given number three times with no answer that number was taken off the list.
I don't remember the predictive dialer making any distinction between a landline and a cell phone. This is back when you had to buy so many minutes to use for your phone and I remember people screaming at me because I was taking their minutes on their cell phone.
I no longer have a landline and I don't think I have for over 20 years. My cell phone is set up such that if you're not on my list of approved callers your call goes straight to voicemail no matter what.
I know the technology has changed drastically since I quit doing this but I would imagine that they're still using a predictive dialer and that if you simply don't answer the call two or three times you will eventually drop off their list.
I use Nomorobo. It's a service that identifies robo calls and kills them after one ring. It's very effective, and it's free for your landline. However, you must have an internet-based landline (VOIP) for it to work. It will work on your mobile phone as well, but you'll have to pay $20 to $50 per year, depending on the features you want. Here's their website:
Stop robocalls and spam texts with Nomorobo
Stop robocalls and spam texts with Nomorobo
Same here and I have quite a long list of Blocked Callers. I've noticed recently that I occasionally have a VM message (sometimes blank; no audio) which turns out to be from numbers I've blocked. IMHO what we need is "phone level" blocking, ie the phone hangs up on any number from the Blocked Callers list, rather than sending it to VM. FWIW, I submitted this suggestion to Apple a while ago.Also useful might be area code blocking, as I was sometimes getting calls from a certain area code, all of which were bogus.
Up here (Canada) I get very few robo calls, but my gf in WA gets them fairly regularly, most being political, and apparently they can't be blocked by law as 1A designates such calls as "free speech."
Laws against such things don't work anyway unless they are effectively enforced. Many years ago the Feds. here set up a Do Not Call registry, which was largely ignored. I read a few years ago that they had had thousands of complaints but had only acted on half a dozen!
Not being a lawyer I think I have a way to get those phone spam operators. Its simple, so simple that I must have missed something.
Do not go after the calls per say, go after who is paying for their services. Set up a law that allows you to hit the outfit that there shilling for. That makes no difference where the call came from.
If you get a unrequest call say from XYZ warranty company from the callers, have them (XYZ) charged a decent sum of money payable to you. It would work against robo or human callers! All you would need is a recording of the call. It would have the company's name and most likely a phone number.
I know it would be legal recording them at least in NYS, the law says only 1 party in a call has to know its being recorded.
Do not go after the calls per say, go after who is paying for their services. Set up a law that allows you to hit the outfit that there shilling for. That makes no difference where the call came from.
If you get a unrequest call say from XYZ warranty company from the callers, have them (XYZ) charged a decent sum of money payable to you. It would work against robo or human callers! All you would need is a recording of the call. It would have the company's name and most likely a phone number.
I know it would be legal recording them at least in NYS, the law says only 1 party in a call has to know its being recorded.
I'm not sure, but if your answering machine answers the call they know the number is active. They usually never leave a message unless it's like a real outfit, like the Red Cross or a political ad. Sometimes I act like I'm mentally challenged, which is easy for me, when I do answer the phone. They don't really bother me that much.
I have a Samsung android and I block every number that I don't recognize after I check VM. Fortunately I have a 303 area code and live much farther north now. very few robo calls up here. When I get one I answer" You're on the air, what do You want to discuss?"
coltle6920
Member
It used to bother me getting all these bogus calls. Now I just look to see if I know the caller and if not just put the phone back down.
Don't do anything. Don't answer the call. Don't block it. Don't reply to any text or VM. Go have a beer and/or a donut and go about your day. In my case the amount of bogus calls I get is down significantly. Can't begin to wonder how much time I wasted wanting to get even with these clowns.
Don't do anything. Don't answer the call. Don't block it. Don't reply to any text or VM. Go have a beer and/or a donut and go about your day. In my case the amount of bogus calls I get is down significantly. Can't begin to wonder how much time I wasted wanting to get even with these clowns.
Or answer, "This is Dr. Crain, I'm listening...."
How I handle unwanted phone calls...
Me: Hallo? Wer ist das, bitte?
Caller: Uhhhh...I'm calling about...
Me: Es tut mir leid...Ich spreche kein Englisch. Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Caller: Uhhhh...uhhhh...
<and if the caller hasn't given up by then>
Me: Ach so! Du bist ein Esel...tschüss! <click>
Me: Hallo? Wer ist das, bitte?
Caller: Uhhhh...I'm calling about...
Me: Es tut mir leid...Ich spreche kein Englisch. Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Caller: Uhhhh...uhhhh...
<and if the caller hasn't given up by then>
Me: Ach so! Du bist ein Esel...tschüss! <click>
Beemerguy53:
Me: Es tut mir leid...Ich spreche kein Englisch. Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Caller: Ummm... Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
Caller: Ummm... Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof
